Identity Conflic un the Land of València during the Post-Franco Democratic Period

València (officially Comunitat Valenciana) is a territory in eastern Spain inhabited by five million
people where both Catalan (officially known there as valencià, Valencian) and Castilian (i.e. Spanish)
are official languages. The official use of Catalan (València's traditional language) was banned in this territory
in 1707, with the advent of the Bourbon dynasty. In 1983, sis years after democracy arrived into
Spain, the official use and the teaching of this language was restored. Even though today it is one of the
two official languages in València, Catalan/Valencian has not achieved the prestige and social use there
that it has in Catalonia or in the Balearic Islands. In order to explain this fact, we need to look back at the
Spanish transition to democracy period (1977-1983), when the identity and language of València became
a matter for heated political and social dispute....
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València (officially Comunitat Valenciana) is a territory in eastern Spain inhabited by five million
people where both Catalan (officially known there as valencià, Valencian) and Castilian (i.e. Spanish)
are official languages. The official use of Catalan (València's traditional language) was banned in this territory
in 1707, with the advent of the Bourbon dynasty. In 1983, sis years after democracy arrived into
Spain, the official use and the teaching of this language was restored. Even though today it is one of the
two official languages in València, Catalan/Valencian has not achieved the prestige and social use there
that it has in Catalonia or in the Balearic Islands. In order to explain this fact, we need to look back at the
Spanish transition to democracy period (1977-1983), when the identity and language of València became
a matter for heated political and social dispute. As a result, the Valencian identity 'and, particularly, its
most characteristic and distinctive trait, València's language' was significantly weakened. However, in
spite of these linguistic and identity conflicts in València, it must be acknowledged that the Catalan/Valencian
language has made significant legal advances in València from 1983.